Picture: BuzzCity CEO Dr Lai Kok Fung (centre) receives Best Mobile Social Networking Service Award from Dr Paul Jacobs (left), CEO of Qualcomm. Right: Awards 2008 host Graham Norton.

March 2008: The world just got a lot smaller – and smarter, thanks to mobile social networking services such as myGamma.

The service from Singapore-based BuzzCity wins the GSM Association’s Best Mobile Social Networking Service at the Global Mobile Awards 2008 in Barcelona in February 2008. It also won in the Asian event in Macau last year.

The award recognises the increasing importance of mobile social networking worldwide. myGamma beat four other nominees in both the Asia and global categories.

In presenting the award, the judging panel comprising industry practitioners from telcos, research companies and media companies described myGamma as a rapidly growing social network site spanning borders, cultures and languages.

CEO Dr Lai Kok Fung says BuzzCity recently introduced myGamma 2.0. More than two million members interact in mobile blogs, forums, testimonials and games daily over the mygamma.com network. This wireless community caters to two distinct audiences: the newly connected middle class in developing markets and the blue collar sector in developed regions.

These were originally the so-called "unwired" consumers who are accessing the mobile Internet on their phones due to widespread and affordable wireless access.

myGamma continues to develop its service footprint in Europe by expanding its coverage into Poland and Portugal. The recent expanded coverage brings myGamma to a total of 62 countries, having gained dominance in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

"We’re expecting more member sign-ups from Europe. In the coming months, the various carriers are likely to practice lower pricing and more predictable surfing bills. And, judging by the offering at this year’s Mobile World Congress, the growth of users will also see the growth of more and better content – on and off the operator portals!" says Dr Lai. "Mobile communities have evolved very quickly and have become part of everyday life for consumers around the world."

Growing market for mobile networking

On or off-portal, mobile social networks are firmly on the agenda in many markets; the attraction of a personal service on a highly personal device, like the cellphone, opens up many new business opportunities.

Market research firm Informa Telecoms & Media reports that 55 to 60 million mobile phone subscribers worldwide already use mobile networking services.

And Juniper Research predicts a huge increase of mobile social networkers – from 14 million in 2007 to nearly 600 million in 2012.

In 2008, more and more mobile carriers and mobile content providers will tap into this fast-growing market, focusing on music and videos as a cornerstone of their offering, with mobile communities continuing to fuel the uptake of mobile music as users share and develop their music tastes and knowledge via the medium of mobile social networking.

About BuzzCity: A developer of global wireless communities and consumer services. Established in 1999 in Singapore, BuzzCity today operates the world's largest wireless community – mygamma.com.

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